Cultural Events

Vet To Speak At NBLA Open Meeting

Published: Sep 12, 2013 12:00 AM

Dr Matthew Eliott from Mid-Hudson Vet in Carmel, N.Y., will speak at the Newtown Bridle Land Association open meeting on Tuesday, September 17, at 7:30 pm. The meeting will be at Newtown Meeting House...

Camera Club Kicking Off New Season With Program, Workshop, Exhibition

Published: Sep 12, 2013 12:00 AM

Flagpole Photographers Camera Club will be kicking off the 2013-14 season on Thursday, September 19, with a general meeting and photo competition. It begins at 7:30 pm in the meeting room of C.H. Boot...

Flagpole Radio Café To Begin Season September 28 With Returning Special Guest

Published: Sep 11, 2013 12:00 AM

Flagpole Radio Café will return to the Edmond Town Hall on Saturday, September 28, at 7 pm, with a return by harp sensation Deborah Henson-Conant. Tickets are $30, $25 for students and senior citizens...

Horse Guard Open House Set For September 29

Published: Sep 11, 2013 12:00 AM

The Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard will host its annual open house on Sunday, September 29, from 10 am to 2 pm, at the State Military Reservation located at 4 Wildlife Drive in Newtown. The day...

Newtown Pumpkin Festival Hoping To Bring Halloween Back To Newtown

Published: Sep 11, 2013 12:00 AM

A Bead of Roses is pleased to announce the first annual Newtown Pumpkin Festival. Through a collaborative effort between A Bead of Roses, Newtown Kindness, Newtown Youth Academy, and many other Newtow...

Open House And Revolutionary Camp Reenactment, Sunday At Matthew Curtiss House

Published: Sep 11, 2013 12:00 AM

Newtown Historical Society will host an open house at its headquarters, The Matthew Curtiss House, 44 Main Street, on Sunday September 15, from 12 to 4 pm. Admission is free; however, donations are we...

Newtown Selected For Unique Solar Program; Public Workshop September 24

Published: Sep 11, 2013 12:00 AM

Newtown has been selected to participate in a unique solar program offered through the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA). The town will join ten other communities in Phase 3 of Sol...

Feed A Stray For A Day

Published: Sep 10, 2013 12:00 AM

Caraluzzi’s Market, 5 Queen Street, is hosting The Animal Center’s Cat Food Drive, beginning on Saturday, September 14. The Animal Center is most in need of regular and large cans of Friskies cat food...

Poulenc Trio To Open Friends Of Music Season

Published: Sep 09, 2013 12:00 AM

Newtown Friends of Music will present The Poulenc Trio, an ensemble consisting of piano, bassoon and oboe, in concert on Sunday, September 22, at 3 pm. The performance will be in Edmond Town Hall Thea...

Ride 2 Recovery Minuteman Challenge Will Bring Bicycling Veterans Through Newtown, Tuesday

Published: Sep 06, 2013 12:00 AM

A group of approximately 200 injured veterans and their supporters will set off on Sunday, September 8, on the UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery (R2R) Minuteman Challenge, a seven-day, 425-mile bicycle...

Snapshot: Perry Levenson

Mom Walk Collective Newtown Mini Photos Session Rescheduled

Newtown Prevention Partnership Offers Resources For Mental Health Awareness

Newtown Seniors Hit The Floor For Annual Spring Fling

Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

The ‘Me’ Generation

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